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Iraq War: We interrupt coverage of Bristol Palin's pregnancy to announce that the U.S. has turned over control of Iraq's wild, wild west to Baghdad. Memo to Barack Obama: Soon you will have nothing left to surrender.On Monday, while Democrats waited to see if Hurricane Gustav would be another Katrina and the GOP juggled its convention schedule, U.S. commanders formally returned responsibility for security in Iraq's Anbar province to the Iraqi Army and police. Maybe you missed it. The New York Times Web page had three stories on Bristol Palin. The Washington Post's online magazine, Slate, is running a "Name...

RAMADI, Iraq — Two years ago, Anbar Province was the most lethal place for the Americans in Iraq, with a marine or a soldier dying here nearly every day. The provincial capital, Ramadi, was a moonscape of rubble and ruins. Islamic extremists controlled large pieces of territory, with some so ferocious in their personal views that they did not even allow the sale of bread. On Monday, following a parade on a freshly paved street, American commanders formally returned responsibility for keeping order in Anbar Province, once the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, to the Iraqi Army and police force....

RAMADI, Iraq: Two years ago, Anbar Province was the most lethal place for American forces in Iraq. A U.S. marine or soldier died in the province nearly every day, and the provincial capital, Ramadi, was a moonscape of rubble and ruins. Islamic extremists controlled large pieces of territory, with some so ferocious in their views that they did not even allow the baking of bread. On Monday, U.S. commanders formally returned responsibility for keeping order in Anbar Province, once the heartland of the Sunni insurgency, to the Iraqi Army and police. The ceremony, including a parade on a freshly paved...

Given Hurricane Gustav, the GOP convention—and the MSM's inherent inclination to underreport good news from Iraq—a major story is not getting the attention it deserves. Here's how President Bush described the development [the photo shows U.S. Marine Maj. Gen John Kelly and Anbar Governor Maamoun Sami Rashid signing the handover papers. (AP Photo/Wathiq Khuzaie, Pool)]: "Today in Iraq, responsibility for security in Anbar Province was transferred to Iraqi civilian authorities. Iraqi forces will now take the lead in security operations in Anbar, with American troops moving into an overwatch role. Not long ago, Anbar was one of the most dangerous...

WASHINGTON, September 1 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today in Iraq, responsibility for security in Anbar Province was transferred to Iraqi civilian authorities. Iraqi forces will now take the lead in security operations in Anbar, with American troops moving into an overwatch role. Not long ago, Anbar was one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq. Al Qaeda was in control of almost every major population center, and its leaders intended to turn Anbar province into a safe haven from which to plan and launch further attacks against Iraqis and others in the region, as well as here at home. Today, Anbar...

The U.S. military Monday handed control of Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi security forces. U.S. forces will withdraw to bases and rejoin Iraqi operations in Anbar only at the request of the provincial governor. Anbar is a Sunni-dominated province whose inhabitants turned against U.S. forces soon after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Anbar towns, such as Fallujah and Ramadi became insurgent strongholds, where militants waged fierce battles against U.S. troops. Violence in Anbar began to subside in 2006 when Sunni tribes became weary of al-Qaida's brutality against the local population. The tribes formed councils and joined U.S.-led forces...

An Iraqi national policeman assigned to 8th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, uses his rifle to search debris for weapons and explosive materials during a cordon and search operation in the Beladiyat area of eastern Baghdad, June 10. Along with Iraqi army soldiers, national police detained 23 suspects and confiscated illegal weapons, including 62 AK-47 rifles, six Simonov rifles, four pistols and two artillery shells prepared as improvised explosive devices in Muhalla 740. Photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Meadows. FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY — For Iraqi national police officers and Iraqi army soldiers, conducting cordon and search missions is nothing...

Iraqis gathered in the Hayyaniyah district of Basra, Iraq to answer a recruiting call by the Iraqi army May 29. More than 3,000 Iraqi men from the area turned out for the event though the Iraqi army only had 1,000 positions available. BASRA — Soldiers with the 1st Iraqi Army looked to increase their numbers and support in Basra, Iraq May 29. Operation Charge of the Knights has been successful in rooting out criminal elements and restoring the rule of law to the city as well as increasing local support for the government of Iraq. The increased support for the...

Iraq's financial free ride may be over. After five years, Republicans and Democrats seem to have found common ground on at least one aspect of the war. From the fiercest war foes to the most steadfast Bush supporters, they are looking at Iraq's surging oil income and saying Baghdad should start picking up the tab, particularly for rebuilding hospitals, roads, power lines and the rest of the shattered country. "I think the American people are growing weary not only of the war, but they are looking at why Baghdad can't pay more of these costs. And the answer is they...

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 – Building an Iraqi police force is an enormous challenge, but the coalition-and-Iraqi team working to do so is making progress, a senior U.S. Army officer working with Iraq’s Interior Ministry said today. Maj. Gen. Michael D. Jones, director general for interior affairs in Baghdad, said in an interview today that the Iraqi-led, Iraqi-planned operations in Basra pointed to both the successes and the setbacks in training the police. The sheer size of the training challenge is daunting, he said. The Iraqi police forces have grown 400 percent since 2003. If the U.S. Army had undergone...

WASHINGTON - Iraq's western province of Anbar, origin of the Sunni Arab insurgency that arose in the early months of U.S. occupation, will be returned to Iraqi control in March, a senior U.S. general said Thursday. Thus far, nine of 18 Iraqi provinces have reverted to Iraqi control, most recently the southern province of Basra in December. The process has gone substantially slower than the Bush administration once hoped, mainly because of obstacles to developing sufficient Iraqi police and army forces. Marine Maj. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin, commander of the roughly 35,000 Marine and Army forces in Anbar, said levels...

A surge of their own: Iraqis take back the streets - Under the embers of the wintry evening sun the Tigris river, usually as brown as old boots, had turned almost blood red. Its waters were calm but its oily sheen was disturbed by the oars of a rower as he sculled his way through the city's fractured heart.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 10, 2007 – Basra, the second-largest city in Iraq, will be turned over to Iraqi provincial control in the next two weeks, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced yesterday during a visit to Iraq. The city will be the largest population turned over to the Iraqis and will complete the turnover to the Iraqis of the southern provinces of the country. Brown told British soldiers gathered at Basra International Airport that he had spoken with Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki by phone. “He asked me to pass on his thanks to you for what you have done to...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that the Iraqi province of Basra is to be handed over to Iraqi control within two weeks. Mr Brown flew into Basra city on Sunday for a surprise visit to British troops. He broke the news as he addressed servicemen and women at Basra air station, after holding telephone talks with Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki. The remaining 4,500 British troops in Iraq will now focus their efforts on training local Iraqi forces. UK troop numbers are set to be reduced to 2,500 from the spring. Mr Brown told the troops: "I have just talked...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 2, 2007 – The Iraqi government has assumed command of a major unit from the country’s army, a sign of continued improvement in Iraq’s armed forces, U.S. officials said. Marine Maj. Gen. W.E. Gaskin, commander of Multinational Force West, relinquished operational control of the 7th Iraqi Army Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. Murthi Mishin Rafa Farahan, to Iraqi Ground Forces Command in a ceremony at the division's headquarters at Camp Blue Diamond, in Ramadi, yesterday. The 7th Iraqi Army Division is responsible for security along the western Euphrates River Valley, with three brigades operating across the...

Iraqis to take control of Basra province Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 8:39pm GMT 30/10/2007 British forces are to transfer responsibility for security in Basra province to Iraq’s government in December, it has been announced. UK troops withdrew from Basra city in September Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, and David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that after a formal handover ceremony British troops would be "in overwatch" in the region while the Iraqi police and army take on greater responsibility for security on the ground. Mr Browne is expected to agree a date in mid-December for the handover...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- For the first time since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the Iraqi prime minister, through the Iraqi minister of defense, will take operational control of the Iraqi ground forces command structure and the country’s air forces and navy tomorrow, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said today. “This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur tomorrow,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “It's the one event that puts the prime minister directly in the operational control of his military forces as his role as the...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq will take control of its armed forces command on Thursday, a major step on its painful path toward independence and an essential move before international troops can eventually withdraw.Despite the progress, there was more bloodshed with at least 36 people killed across the country in car bombs, mortar attacks and drive-by shootings. Police also found 29 bodies. “This is such a huge, significant event that’s about to occur tomorrow,” U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said of the shift in the Iraqi command. “If you go back and you map out significant events that have...

Iraq to take control of armed forces By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer 31 minutes ago BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq will take control of its armed forces command on Thursday, a major step on its painful path toward independence and an essential move before international troops can eventually withdraw. Despite the progress, there was more bloodshed with at least 36 people killed across the country in car bombs, mortar attacks and drive-by shootings. Police also found 29 bodies. "This is such a huge, significant event that's about to occur tomorrow," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said of the...

U.S., Iraq near handover By Ibon Villelabeitia BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq hope to sign an agreement by next week to hand operational command of Iraq's new army to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Iraq said on Monday, after wrangles on wording had held up the accord. A day after the government hailed the arrest of al Qaeda in Iraq's purported deputy head as a coup against insurgents, the bodies of 33 men, some with their hands bound and bearing signs of torture, were found in Baghdad, and foreign forces announced the death of four Americans and two...

BAGHDAD, Sep. 1, 2006 – The Iraqi Ground Forces Command assumed command and control here today of one of its Iraqi army divisions from the Multinational Corps Iraq, marking what officials here said is the first step toward Iraqi sovereignty over the country’s armed forces. The 8th Iraqi Army Division, commanded by Maj. Gen Othman Ali Salih Farhood, which had been a subordinate unit of Multinational Division Baghdad, will now report directly to the IGFC as an adjacent unit to MND-B. When the division took the lead for operations in its sector on Jan. 27, it was the first to...

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi forces will assume responsibility for Dhi Qar province in the south, making it the second out of 18 provinces that the Iraqis would take control of. The Iraqis took over Muthanna province in the south from British forces in July.

 REBUILDING IRAQ Project Creates Water Wells Hibhib Water Treatment Plant Opens New Fire Department Opens in Husseniya Balad Air Base Paves Way to the Future Renovated Yusufiyah Playground Reopens Civil Affairs Soldiers Help Baghdad Citizens Police Reopen Northeast Station in Mosul Work Continues to Restore Iraqi Marshlands Soldiers Stockpile Medical Logistics Skills  IRAQIS TAKE THE LEAD Iraqis Take Lead in Northern Baghdad Region Iraqi Training Proceeds in Anbar Province Iraqi Soldiers Deliver Donated School Supplies Iraqis Assume Lutufiyah Area Responsibility Iraqis Takes Over Territory at Camp Habbinyah Troops’ Mortar Know-How to Improve Security May 2006  REBUILDING IRAQ Aerial Spraying...

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi government will officially take control of its major air, sea and land-based military commands beginning early next month, a move the Coalition sees as a major step toward putting Iraqis in charge of securing the country, a senior Coalition spokesman here said Monday. After more than three years of training and helping shape the Iraqi military, the Coalition said in a statement last week that the government of Iraq has “created the conditions” for the Iraqi military to begin reporting to its government for orders - not the Coalition command. “There will be no Coalition forces...

BAGHDAD -- As the country of Iraq moves from a heavy reliance on military security towards self-reliance and an everyday presence of civil security, the National Police will provide a paramilitary presence skilled in bridging the gap between the military and police services. A new plan by Iraq’s Ministry of Interior is designed to facilitate the transition. The use of paramilitary forces is common to many countries. Known in France as Gendarmerie and in Italy as Caribinieri, these forces have been widely used in peacekeeping operations throughout the world. These types of forces were used in Haiti during the rebellion...

By Multi-National Force - West Public Affairs Officer An Iraqi Police officer provides crowd control at an Iraqi Police recruiting drive held in al-Qa'im. Department of Defense photo by Marine Cpl. Antonio Rosas. CAMP AL ASAD  -- More than 500 Iraqi men were screened and accepted for service as police officers in their local communities during a three-day recruiting drive in Iraq’s western al-Anbar province recently. U.S. Marines screened thousands of applicants Aug. 11-14, in various regions along the western Euphrates River valley, including the border cities of al-Qa’im, Haditha, and Baghdadi – a small town just miles east...

Soldiers from the 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division capture insurgents during a demonstration of military ability that took place at Forward Operating Base Mahmudiah South Monday. Story and photos by Sgt. Trevor Snyder124th Mobile Public  Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD -- Iraqi forces took control of another area of Baghdad on Monday after the latest in a series of transfer of authority ceremonies near the capital. Army Col. Claude Ebel, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division said responsibility for Forward Operating Base Mahmudiyah South, a base of operations for security forces south of the capital, was transferred to...

The noted blogger Fjordman is filing this report via Gates of Vienna. From Citizen to Subject — The Rule of Experts and the Rise of Transnational Anti-DemocratsBy Baron Bodissey At the end of the Cold War, Francis Fukuyama pronounced that we had arrived at “The End of History”, and that capitalism and liberal democracy would now be the only global system left. But when I look at Europe today, I see democracies under threat because of an elaborate Eurabian bureaucracy and Islamic fanaticism. I see countries unwilling or unable to defend themselves against massive immigration/colonization. Has democracy become too soft...

BALAD, Iraq, April 16, 2006 – Iraqi soldiers assumed control of part of Iraq's Salah al Din Province from the U.S. Army's 1-8 Combined Arms Battalion in a transfer of authority ceremony yesterday at an Iraqi Army outpost near here. The 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, is assuming control of an area of responsibility that encompasses Balad, Duluyah and Yethrib, as well as the smaller villages surrounding these cities. "We're not pulling out of here right away; we're out here to be by their sides," said Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey, command sergeant major, 1-8 CAB,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi Army’s 5th Brigade, 6th Division, assumed control of Forward Operating Base Honor from the 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team during a transfer of authority ceremony Jan. 31. The ceremony marked the increasing role Iraqi security forces are undertaking in Baghdad and throughout their country in enforcing the sovereign government’s rule of law. “This brigade is responsible for protecting Iraq’s new government here in the International Zone,� said Col. Mohammad Wasif, commander, 5th Bde., 6th Iraqi Army Div. “The brigade consists of three battalions. We will work day and night to achieve our mission...

An Iraqi army unit has assumed responsibility for an area south of Mosul formerly under the purview of the U.S. Army’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, U.S. officials said Tuesday. The Iraqi 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Army Division took over the mission in a ceremony Saturday. The unit’s main task is providing security in an area that stretches between Qayyrah and the Mosul-Baghdad highway and encompasses about 58 square miles, officials said. The battalion has its roots as an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps company, and now has expanded to an 800-member battalion. The unit has lost 13 of its...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 19, 2006 – Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli accepted authority as the commander of Multinational Corps Iraq from Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines in a transfer-of-authority ceremony at Camp Victory here today. Vines served as the commanding general of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, N.C., before replacing Lt. Gen. Thomas Metz as the MNCI commander in 2005. From Iraq, Vines will return to his previous position as commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, at Fort Bragg. Chiarelli comes to MNCI from his position as the commander of Task Force Victory, from Heidelberg, Germany. During...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2005 – Coalition forces today transferred command of northwest Iraq, and U.S. troops killed two terrorists Dec. 28, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported today. Command of northwest Iraq transferred from Task Force Freedom to Task Force Band of Brothers during a ceremony in Mosul. The transfer consolidates operational areas into a single multinational division under the command of Task Force Band of Brothers, military officials said. With its new command responsibilities, Task Force Band of Brothers includes the 1st and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams from the 101st Airborne Division, 1st and 3rd Brigade Combat Teams from the...

BAGHDAD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Iraq, Dec. 2, 2005 – An all Iraqi aircrew flew its first solo mission aboard a C-130E from Ali Air Base, near Nasariyah in southeast Iraq, to New Al Muthana here Nov. 28, officials reported today. The nine aircrew members are part the 23rd Iraqi Squadron, which has been receiving training at Ali Air Base. "The flight marked a major milestone achievement by showing Iraq's capability of providing its own military transport," said Air Force Capt. Jerry Ruiz, forward operations executive officer at New Al Muthana Air Base. The aircrew performed what's called an engine running on-load,...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2005 – People who wonder why it's taking so long for Iraqi security forces to become capable of providing for their nation's security need to look at what's happened since coalition forces toppled Saddam Hussein's regime, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a Nov. 8 radio interview. Speaking with Samir Nader on Voice of America's Radio SAWA, Rumsfeld pointed to the progress evident today in building Iraq's security forces from scratch. "First of all, it's not taking so long," Rumsfeld said. "It's been two and a half years, and we've gone from zero to 210,000 Iraqi...

TIKRIT, Iraq — Seeking to lower the visibility of U.S. troops and grant more authority to Iraqi government forces, the American military has now ceded control of 27 of the nation's 109 bases, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. Thousands of U.S. troops have been redeployed in recent months from bases in Najaf, Karbala, Tikrit and other cities, and Iraqis are now in charge of patrol areas that include four districts of Baghdad and the town of Taiji, northeast of the capital. On Friday, American officials announced that the next major military installation expected to be transferred to Iraqi control was...

BAGHDAD, Oct. 1, 2005 – In the dead of night Sept. 24, Iraqi police with the 2nd Public Order Brigade conducted their first raid without oversight by coalition forces. The mission was directed against members of terrorist groups and criminal gangs in Medain, a district south of Baghdad. In all, the Iraqi police unit detained 20 suspects and confiscated several AK-47 assault rifles. "Medain is a very important area for us to secure - many people suspected of terrorism live in that region," said Brig. Gen. Hamed Aabdullah Abrahim, 2nd POB commander. "Our brigade is conducting qualitative operations, not quantitative,...

NAJAF, Iraq - The U.S. Army handed over its base in Najaf on Tuesday, giving Iraqis full control of the city as a first step in transferring security across the country so multinational forces can begin to go home someday. Lt. Col. James Oliver, the U.S. commander of Forward Operating Base Hotel, handed the ceremonial keys to the installation to the new Iraqi commander, Col. Saadi Salih al-Maliky. About 1,500 Iraqi soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 8th Division marched by. Before the ceremony, the Iraqi soldiers, all Shiites, chanted "long live Sistani," referring to top cleric Grand Ayatollah...

The Iraqi Army assumes control of Forward Operating Base Hotel in Najaf.FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, Sept. 6, 2005 — A ceremony celebrating the transfer of authority of Forward Operating Base Hotel and the anniversary of the end of hostile activities in Najaf was held at Forward Operating Base Hotel Sept. 6. Members of 1st Battalion, 198th Armor, 155th Brigade Combat Team, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) transferred authority of Forward Operating Base Hotel, Najaf, Iraq, to the 1st Brigade, 8th Division of the Iraqi Army. The unit has assisted the people of Najaf since mid-January. Thirty-one projects, costing approximately...

CAMP ECHO, Iraq – Coalition forces turned over Camp Zulu in As Suwayrah, Iraq, to the Iraqi Army Aug. 21. This is the first coalition forces camp within the Multi-National Division Central’s South area of responsibility to be turned over to Iraq’s 8th Division. The division’s 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade will be permanently housed there.

U.S. expanding other jails in Iraq to hold transferred inmates The U.S. military is planning to hand over the notorious Abu Ghraib prison to Iraqi control early next year after expanding three jails to house thousands of prisoners, Stars and Stripes has learned. “At sometime in the future, yes, that is the plan,” Lt. Col. Guy Rudisill, spokesman for Multi-National Force-Iraq’s detainee operations stated in an e-mail interview from Baghdad. “We are building a new Camp Cropper — and when it is completed in the Feb ’06 timeframe — our plan is to transfer operations from Abu Ghraib and close...

Baghdad – Abdel Kareem Al Enezi, minister of Iraqi national security, has announced the existence of a mutual plan for the withdrawal of the multinational forces from the secure cities during this month (August). Al Enezi said that the plan includes the withdrawal of the multinational forces from 7 secure Iraqi cities and hading them over, to Iraqi authorities. Al Enezi pointed out that the 7 provinces are Najaf, Karbala, Al Naseria, Al Diwaneya, Al Samawa, Al Selaimania and Erbil. He noted that the procedures of withdrawal from some of these cities have already started. On their behalf, the American...

Phase Two of Oil Terminal Security Turnover Begins MANAMA, Bahrain: The Iraqi military has begun the next phase in the security turnover process to assume responsibility for the Khawr Al Amaya and Al Basrah oil terminals. In an interview July 12 aboard USS Normandy (CG 60), Royal Australian Navy Commodore Steve Gilmore, commander, Task Force 58 said that the process will be complete when Iraq's military takes command and control of the oil terminals. "We’re beginning phase two of a three-phase process, which will transition the point-defense of the Iraqi oil terminals to the Iraqi Marines," said Gilmore.

HONOLULU -- After six years of trying, Sen. Daniel Akaka hopes to finally see a vote in the Senate this week on one of the hardest-fought measures of his congressional career -- his bill to grant his fellow Native Hawaiians federal recognition. "It will have a historical impact," said Akaka, D-Hawaii. "It affects Hawaii, the Pacific, the nation." The measure is tentatively scheduled for debate Monday night and Tuesday, with a vote on Wednesday. Akaka and Hawaii's other Democratic senator, Daniel Inouye, say there are enough votes for approval. It would grant Native Hawaiians the same rights of self-government enjoyed...

Opinion polls from recent months reveal an erosion of public support for the war in Iraq. Congress, heading towards an election year, seems increasingly skittish about supporting the Bush Administration’s strategy for victory in Iraq, and Members have started to talk about settling for an “exit strategy.” Last week, two Republicans joined a pair of Democratic colleagues in sponsoring a bill calling for the Bush Administration to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by October 1, 2006. Washington politics should not be allowed to drive the U.S. timetable in Iraq. A politically driven pullout would be a disaster.

...Since the election, coverage of the violence, as valid as it is, has once again obscured major developments. In political terms, Iraq followed the timeline we envisioned, achieving a string of concrete and unprecedented political successes: the drafting of an interim constitution in February 2004; the formation of a multi-ethnic interim government in June that year; followed by the early hand over of sovereignty the same month; culminating in the dramatic election in January this year. But we also expected the insurgency to progressively dry up as Iraqis became politically empowered and democratic institutions took shape. This hasn't happened, at...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE CONSTITUTION, BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 11, 2005 – A ceremony was held in western Baghdad June 9 to officially transfer the authority of Raider Base from the coalition forces to the Iraqi Army. "This represents a tremendous growth and ability of the Iraqi security forces to assume on their own duties of manning an important outpost," said Lt. Col. Loepoldo Quintas, commander, 2nd Battalion, 70th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. Gen. Aziz Swady, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division commander and his soldiers were passed the torch of control for Raider Base. Aziz promised...

IRAQ: Training Iraqi Police is an Uphill Struggle Facing the constant threat of ambushes, suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and kidnappers, former Scottsdale, Arizona, Police Chief Michael Heidingsfield travels to police stations and training camps around Iraq — an itinerary, according to one of his top aides, that is more difficult now than it was when he arrived six months ago. June 5th, 2005 More than two years after the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled, former Scottsdale Police Chief Michael Heidingsfield, speaking from the center of the desert storm, is not the voice of sunny optimism. Heidingsfield’s candor is...

February 9, 2005 Release Number: 05-02-09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE IRAQI PILOTS RECEIVE C-130 TRAININGBAGHDAD, Iraq -- A five-man crew from Squadron 23 of the Iraqi Air Force trained for the first time on flying and operating an American C-130 cargo plane outside of Iraq's air space. A crew of U.S. Air Force pilots used a five-hour round-trip flight to Amman, Jordan as a training exercise for the Iraqi pilots and crew members. Five other crews from Squadron 23, of Ali Base in Talil, Iraq, were passengers on the flight, heading to training in Jordan. One crew will continue traveling to...

The chief of police in the Iraqi city of Mosul has given insurgents two weeks to give up their weapons or face a crackdown by security forces emboldened after the election....snip